Investment in startups is booming

July 15, 2017

Venture capital investment in Chinese startups tripled in the second quarter, driven by an uptick in mega-deals and is expected to maintain that momentum in Q3, KPMG said in a report released yesterday.

The number of deals was relatively stable from the previous quarter at 79, but the amount tripled to $10.7 billion (£8 billion). This sharp rise was bolstered by two mega deals: ride-hailing platform Didi Chuxing raised $5.5 billion (£4 billion) and news aggregator Toutiao raised $1 billion (£0.77 billion).

Companies offering both high-tech and simple-tech solutions drew increasing attention — a trend expected to continue through this quarter.

The hottest sectors are artificial intelligence, robotics, fintech, edtech and healthtech. Companies with simple business models also attracted significant investment.